croak 1 of 2

verb

ˈkrōk How to pronounce croak (audio)
Definition of croaknext
1
as in to complain
to express dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment usually tiresomely the cranky patient was always croaking to the nurses about something

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to die
slang to stop living I wouldn't go around saying your great-grandmother "croaked"

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3
as in to kill
slang to deprive of life "I croaked the old bugger," he bragged

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4
as in to assassinate
slang to put to death deliberately hooligans had croaked the street corner wino just for the hell of it

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croak

2 of 2

noun

as in squawk

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of croak
Verb
Participants will be trained to learn the chirps and croaks of various local frog and toad species, then commit to going out to a particular piece of the watershed near their homes a couple of nights per month to listen for the frogs and toads and record their absence or presence. — Keith Matheny, Freep.com, 13 Feb. 2026 Ravens circle overhead, croaking at my presence in defiance. — Josh Jackson, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
Noun
Finding the beauty in that hellish croak — something that Josh Groban was able to do in the last Broadway revival — can prove exceptionally difficult. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2026 The men stood frowning at each other and then back at Adi until the one without the gun broke into croaks of laughter. — Jonathan Miles, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for croak
Recent Examples of Synonyms for croak
  1. complain
  2. die
  3. kill
  4. assassinate
  5. squawk
  6. scream
  7. perish
  8. destroy
Verb
  • That March, a seventy-year-old patient from a wealthy Cypriot family, Evie Lanitis, arrived at BioMed, complaining of a host of minor maladies, including bursitis in her toes, dental pain, and digestive issues.
    — D. T. Max, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026
  • In the days before the spill was announced, residents complained of fuel-like odors pervading areas of Dubai and north.
    — Kelsey Warner, semafor.com, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of complain
Verb
  • Kate Whiteman, the woman who first filed a lawsuit against the men, died in late 2025 at age 45 in Australia.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Rent played its first preview off-Broadway, at the New York Theatre Workshop, on January 25, 1996—the same day that Jonathan Larson, its 35-year-old composer and librettist, died suddenly at his home in Manhattan.
    — Vogue, Vogue, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of die
Verb
  • Support for the populist had eroded since 16 people were killed in 2024 when a concrete canopy collapsed at a train station in Novi Sad.
    — JOVANA GEC, Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2026
  • The military campaign that ensued has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
    — Eric Cortellessa, Time, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of kill
Verb
  • Riehle made it to Broadway in 1986 with a role in the Emily Mann drama Execution of Justice, which centered on the trial of Dan White, who assassinated San Francisco mayor George Moscone and city supervisor Harvey Milk in 1978.
    — Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Earlier that year, King had been assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
    — Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of assassinate
Noun
  • In a separate incident involving a squawk 7700 in July, a Southwest Airlines flight departing Kahului, Hawaii, sent out a squawk 7700 after a passenger experienced a medical issue on board, the airline confirmed to PEOPLE at the time.
    — Natalia Senanayake, PEOPLE, 2 Sep. 2026
  • For aviation geeks or those who simply want to keep track of their plane’s unique flying data and route, squawk codes can be tracked on apps and websites like Flightradar24 and Flight Beacon.
    — Staff Author, Travel + Leisure, 22 July 2026
Definition of squawk
Verb
  • A little girl pounding her fists and screaming; none of the visitors nor the staff were allowed to hold her to provide comfort.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Rays third baseman Junior Caminero screamed in the dugout after Milwaukee had rallied to tie the game.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of scream
Verb
  • In the film, Carrie impales Margaret (Piper Laurie) with flying kitchen knives, crucified within a door frame, before perishing herself.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Eons ago a star up to 30 times the mass of our sun collapsed and perished, forming a black hole.
    — Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of perish
Verb
  • Cities outside Paris have been hit hard by the unrest, including Limoges where a fire nearly destroyed the 19th-century city hall.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Animal diseases also threaten our economy and food system, destroying more than 20% of global livestock production each year.
    — Robert Kelly, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of destroy

Browse Nearby Words

critters
croak
croaked
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Cite this Entry

“Croak.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/croak. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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